


Indicators

by Epicaricacy



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Ezreal & Luxanna - Friendship, Fluff, Indicators!AU, M/M, Queen Lux is Queen, Queen Luxanna, Sweet, soulmate!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 20:31:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6535243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Epicaricacy/pseuds/Epicaricacy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where one could know their soul mates are via strange indicators, Ezreal found himself tracking his soul mates' growth through a series of songs. AU! Wherein they are not champions and is in the real world. That Soulmate!AU / Indicator!AU that nobody ever asked for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Indicators

**Author's Note:**

> Edited and beta-read by my lovely friend, LeiRei. Any mistakes left were mine.

**Indicators**

  
The library is filled with students cramming for their midterms examinations, and for once the room was filled with various scratches from ball-point pens and the occasional murmurs of each and every studying students. From his post Ezreal hummed a french tune under his breath as he enjoyed the partial silence that the busy cramming hours brought onto the school library, and also to his life. For once he didn’t have to deal much with avid fans and their occasional requests for pictures or for a help in regards to searching for some _god-knows-what_ book.

 

He’s been feeling very much on his element, and of course; knowing how the deities above lived to make him miserable, that isn’t likely to stay. And he was proven correct when when the sound of a particular pop song filled his head. At this, he found himself stopping from his humming, focusing all of his attention into knowing what the song was about; luckily this time he was able to finally recognize the words, it’s the same tune that he's been hearing almost from any radio station he passed these past few days. It's the techy type of song made by some band about summers. And truthfully, hearing it on repeat is starting to grate his nerves.

 

"Did someone shitted on your cereal, or killed your pet dog or something?" His friend, Luxanna asked, having entered the library and had immediately gone behind the counter to help him with his library tasks and probably to finish her own work. He groaned in reply, furrowing his eyebrows and willing much of the headache away. With a sigh he closed the book he was trying to analyze, pushing the other stacks away from him. He can't really decide if today's song of the day was better than last week's _bullshit_. But the tick that has appeared in his temple is getting bigger by the minute by now.   
  
"This shitty song keeps repeating inside my head, " He murmured, getting visibly upset and seemingly fighting against the urge of destroying anything he could get his hand on. He inched away from his books; those were archeological artifacts that he found from last month’s crusade, he would rather _die_ than to destroy those findings with his bare hand.

 

Having discharged all of the things she’s been carrying behind her, the woman turned all of her attention to him. "Soulmates," The blonde mused, her blue eyes twinkling in amusement and mirth. Looking at her and her lack of worries reminded him that unlike him, she's never had any _indicator_ and therefore any chance of knowing if she had a soul mate out there, and can't help but feel guilty about his lamentations about having one.   
  
As if sensing his guilt, the blonde haired woman pursed her lip, leaning closer to his personal space. He would have gotten annoyed had he not gotten used to it. "You're doing it again," Lux told him, rolling her eyes. Pointing a hand at his furrowed brow. “Stop worrying over me not having _that_ problem.” She smiled triumphantly, pertaining to whatever headache he’ll eventually get whenever his soulmate as much as _hum_ under his breath, shaking her blonde hair.

 

If one were to look at them, they’d say that they are born twins, both sharing blue eyes, almost of the same shade; with his lighter than the sky, and with Luxanna just near the ocean depths of the sea, and almost the same color of blonde hair. If one were to look at them without knowing their history and background, they’d assume that they are born of the same mother, but the fact is he only found the other woman accidentally almost two years ago when he first entered college.

 

“How can you not be affected when having not have an _Indicator_ meant that there was no one made for you?” He suddenly found himself asking. He didn’t mean to pry, but he did worried about his long-time friend and her lack of care about her apparent future, or the _lack_ of one. Almost everyone he has known had an indicator of their own, much rarer than the others, and Luxanna was the only one who doesn’t have any.

 

She smirked, rolling her eyes once again before crossing her arms. The movement did not went unnoticed to some of the students who were not as focused in studying as he initially thought they were, because a few set of eyes suddenly gazed up to his friend’s bosom who suddenly became the highlight of everyone’s day at her sudden movement. He gave them pointed looks, and to his relief they all turned away in shame.

 

“Because it only meant that I’m too awesome to be tied down by some indicator or strange mark that claims to lead me to my destined other half.” She said, before putting the brown bag she was holding closer to the counter and unloading its contents. He beamed as he saw a familiar cup, from one of the cafes outside of the campus where they frequent to.

 

“You keep telling yourself that,” He uttered, but still thanked his lucky stars for having a good friend who would supply him with his vices. He took the cup, removing the lid before taking a large whiff of the black liquid inside. He then, took a large gulp of the beverage in his hand, sighing in relief at tasting the dark coffee contained within the large cup, from beside him his friend gave a disgusted sneer.

 

“How you could be able to drink that swine, I will never understand.” She stated, with a furrow of her brow, clutching the overly sweet coffee she brought for herself closer to her chest as if to protect it from the bitter one he was holding reverently on his hands. “That should be illegal,” She added when he merely sighed in bliss before drinking a gulp once again.

 

He chuckled lightly under his breath, the most of his headache finally subsiding into a bare minimum after drinking his favorite coffee. So far only a faint sound can be heard resonating in his head by now, which is slightly bearable compared to the loud blaring that he could hear from before.

 

“These are made by the gods,” he proclaimed, drinking the rest of the cup’s volume with a final, regretful gulp before throwing the trash to the garbage can underneath the counter, thanking his friend once again for treating him to a good cup of morning coffee. “You are an actual angel,” he stated, rubbing his head as he willed much of the headache away. He could be drinking a medicine to help himself, but he knew better than to get dependant towards those small pills.

 

Once Luxanna was finished with her own drink, she threw the garbage away herself, before walking towards her own station. With a sigh he looked down at the papers that needed grading and turned to his stacks of books. “If I could ply you with more of that dark drink of yours, would you consider grading these papers for me?” She asked, having a heated look at the stack of essays that needed grading as required of her work as the TA.

 

He gave a small chuckle, before shaking his head, “And risk the wrath of your brother, Garen? _No thanks, I choose life_.” He raised his arms in mock surrender, quoting Sid from one of his favorite movies, Ice Age, just because he could. He turned to his own book that needed researching, smiling jovially at being allowed to do what he love for a living.

 

“I've never seen someone look so happy while reading some old-as-rat’s-ass book,” Luxanna commented beside him, apparently still in the mood to procrastinate from her actual work. He merely ignored the taunt, opening the book that he closed and going back to the page from where he left on. By now the song in his head has just became a small hum, strangely calming enough despite of being in constant repeat.

 

“What’s your soulmate was singing to this day, in the first place.” Suddenly Luxanna asked, causing him to frown as he tried to make sense his soulmate’s song. Or make sense through the butchered version that his other half sang that morning.

 

Despite being born in France and being French, he thought that he could be able to get much opportunity to travel the world if he were to join a group of archeologist somewhere in London, luckily for him he was able to find a good group who did not only accepted him with open arms, but also helped him in learning his way around the new country.

 

He was in his first year when he also met Luxanna, who, like him had hailed from a different country; Germany, and along with her brother, tried her luck in teaching. They’ve met over coffee by the doorway of the cafe, where the smaller woman had proceeded to accidentally bathe him of her newly bought coffee minutes only after getting out of the building. It had been a very uncanny way of meeting, one that they still insist on telling their friends about, or going by his lack of actual friends, Luxanna’s brother and her friends. Nobody had foreseen them  being fast friends after that. Not even Ezreal.

 

“It had something to do with underwares,” he rolled his eyes, waving a dismissive hand and shrugging; all too eager to drop the topic and change the subject. He’ll never understand the American’s uncanny preference and almost fanatical way of looking at people in their undergarments, but he’d rather not hear them on hours on end blasting inside his head, thank you very much.

 

“It’s a good song,” Luxanna praised, and he found himself wincing at this. There’s no argument to be made how when it comes to taste, Lux and him had _different_ perceptions on what is considered good. He sighed suddenly, remembering that one time his companion pulled him into a drinking challenge with some of her other friends; he’ll never know how a small woman of her stature could be able to hold much alcohol within her system, and he remembered not only once, that the type of mix they are building can’t be good for anyone,but he never want a repeat of that, and he has thus learnt to be wary of _anything_ that his blonde haired friend wanted him to do. Which does extend to her interest and likes, because she’s just unpredictable like that.

 

“All new songs sound the same to me; annoying and repetitive.” He scoffed, going back to his work. There were a total of ten books that they’ve managed to salvage from the site they’ve worked a month ago, and he only has a few days before they could be taken from him. The title of being a young prodigal archeologist totally had its perks, but not even the title could give him the right to own and hide the things he’s found.

 

His companion gasped silently, offering a silent apology to some music god. Shaking her head, she merely smirked at him, “I know for a fact that you’re only saying that.” She stated, before looking down at the stack of papers before her and turning morose, “Well, as much as I enjoyed talking to you, I do have work to do.” He agreed, and silently they went back to their works.

 

The silence only lasted for a total of ten minutes or so; he knows, he’s tracking it, and so far this is the longest Luxanna has lasted, _yet_ \-- before Lux started pestering him again, “How old were you again when you started having these earworms?” She asked him, giving him a desperate look. How she managed to look harried without actually appearing like one is beyond him, but he’ll need that on crucial moments when he’s running around like a headless chicken before and after an expedition. And more specially, why she decided to be a teacher when she could never sit down to grade a paper to save her life is beyond him.

 

He sighed, because they’ve talked about this a hundred of times, and knowing his friend, this is only her way of distracting herself from her task at hand. But it wouldn't hurt the both of them to have a few minutes of respite, and he admits that he does enjoy granting Lux’s requests, no matter how foolish or simply mind-boggling they could be.

 

So with a sigh he finally stopped trying to get back to work, closing the book before him once again and pushing it away in order for him to focus on trying to entertain the other woman. He tried to find the correct words to begin his tale; finding _‘once upon a time’_ a bit too dramatic, even for his tastes, before settling with the age old startling lineup that most grad school students use. “I was nine--” He started, looking up from his table with a nostalgic look on his eyes as he started remembering.

 

-

 

He just recently turned nine, it's the first day of class and like many other grade school students who went back to school after months of summer break, he's eager to learn. Or play,if he were to admit it _he can't really vividly remember that part_. But what he remembers is that he was in the middle of class when he felt the starting of what seemed like a headache. It had been unlike any of the headaches he’s felt before, and despite not knowing what that feels like, if he were to describe it, it’s as if his brain was being scrambled and fried inside his head.

 

But of course, not knowing what to do he might have tried to pretend that he’s still alright. Braving the whole morning despite of the pain in his head and the strange buzzing that followed, _“Twinkle, Twinkle. Little Star”_ or that’s what he assumed he was hearing, it could have been the English Alphabet, if he remembers correctly their rhymes were the same. But he might not have done a good job pretending, because he found his name being called out softly.

 

The teacher, having noticed his look of silent misery beckoned him quietly by lunch as not to gather unnecessary attention from his peers, "You look in pain, is everything alright?" She asked him. He remembered the teacher as a blond haired, younger teachers who must have been new to teaching. Not only that but the she had also been kind, and seemed to have enough experience with handling kids despite of her lack of professional experience, and she does made learning seemed fun, and not like a chore, so he found no reason to lie.

 

He pointed at his temple, so far the pain has dwindled by now, but he could now hear garbled words as clearly. "My head suddenly hurt, and now I can hear someone singing in my head," He said, concerned the teacher asked him what can he hear. So he elaborated, "They’re singing Twinkle-Twinkle little star," He admitted, eyes downcast and slightly fearful.

 

He didn't know what's wrong, whether he’s gotten some sort of illness that even the doctors couldn’t fix. But he wants to _fix_ it, he didn't want the kind teacher to be saddled with it either. But his words must have given the older woman a clue as to what type of disease he had because she suddenly lost her tensed look, before letting him sit down on one of her small chairs; they were the beautifully made ones, with twisting designs and in silver and white color, not everyone is allowed to sit there, though, only the ill ones. _Does this mean he’s dying?_ He wanted to ask, but decided not to.

 

The young woman, having understood what was happened, suddenly smiled in excitement, or not that he’ll know what that smile meant, “Oh, Ezreal; today is such a blessed day for you,” She suddenly stated, looking for something through a big book she owns before rummaging their medicine cabinet for a medicine to give him.

 

He cocked his head to the side, his wide blue eyes looking up from his fingers to glance at the teacher before him, “What do you mean, teacher?” He asked, visibly confused, but no longer as worried as before. If the kind teacher is no longer as worried, then there is no reason for him to fret; the adults are always right. And by now the headache in his head has almost faded, but he still hears the words.

 

“Do you know the meaning of that song that you can hear in your head, Ezreal?” She suddenly asked, giving him an encouraging smile, when he frowned and shook his head, she gave him another grin, before brushing his blonde hair away from his blue eyes. “It meant that somewhere out there, the person made for you is singing those words.”

 

He mulled over the explanation given to him, not fully comprehending what they meant, but liking the idea that _somewhere_ out there is a person who is made for him. It sounds very sweet, would that meant that he’ll get to marry them the same saw his father married his mum? But it would be difficult to feel pain every time he gets to hear them sing, “If I can hear them sing, then does that mean that they could hear me singing, too?” He suddenly asked, a bit embarrassed; he’s a bit of tone-deaf-- or as noted by some of his relatives-- and has thus barely sang any song with actual words for the fear of getting teased by some of his classmates, so if his other half could hear him sing, that would mean eternal humiliation.

 

The young teacher gave him a reassuring grin, crouching low so they’ll be eye to eye, “Of course not, everyone had their own _Indicators_ , it just so happened that yours is _Telepathic_ , or more specifically activated when your soulmate sings.” She stated, before showing the small tablet in her hand. “Have you eaten yet?” She asked him.

 

He shook his head, more in negation, “Indicators? Soulmates?” He focused on the strange words that he heard the kind teacher utter; lost as to what those things meant. At this, the young woman gave a nod, before going to explain what those meant.

 

“Indicators are the leads that you can use to know the existence of your other-half; as I’ve stated before, everyone had their own indicators, it could be ranging from having the name of your other half in your body, or the word that they’ll say the first time you meet them, having the other half of their eye color, and many other things; and you have the one with the connection through music.” She explained, slowly giving him the small pill with the instructions to drink it once he’s taken his meal, and if and only if the headache becomes unbearable once again.

 

“Soulmates are the other halves that is pre-indicated to be made for you,” She added, before helping him stand and leading him back to his seat, “They can anyone that you know, be it a girl or a boy; gender doesn’t matter, because they will be made for you and you alone.” She stated, smiling down at him with a happy look on her young face.

 

“Have you met yours, teacher?” He suddenly asked, the woman’s smile stilled for a second, and he suddenly regretted asking for it, but as fast as it came, it went away immediately, leaving him wondering if he’d been dreaming when he saw it.  “I haven’t, not yet.” She said, smiling for a bit, “But I won’t lose hope, someday I’ll meet them, and it will be magical.” She looked just as hopeful as a child on Christmas eve, and he can’t help but hope for her happiness on her behalf.

 

That was the last conversation that they had about soulmates, throughout the whole year he still does experience the pain and the headache from the connection that he had with his other half, but he grew to anticipate his soulmate’s singing, even if most of them had been children’s songs and the English alphabet. In fact, some days he found himself mouthing the words, singing a few lines or two but only to himself. Murmuring the butchered version under his breath, even going as far as to capture the attention of his parents.

 

It was a particularly sunny day, two months since he found out about his soulmate. They were in the veranda; his parents drinking tea and he was watching the helpers do the garden when his parents noticed him humming. “You are getting fond of children's songs these past few weeks.” She noted, smiling amiably and sharing a knowing look with his father. “Got something you want to tell us, son?”

 

He stiffened from his position by the --- of the veranda, looking away from his parent’s eyes to prevent her from knowing what’s on his mind. He didn’t know what they’ll say if he had told them the truth, and frankly at the moment he had no plans of telling them about what he had learned, two months ago. The others might call it something akin to being _greedy_ , he only calls it as simply basking in the new sensation that it bought.

 

“I just met someone new,” He look out from his downcast look at the marble divider, pleading with his eyes alone for his parents _not to ask_ . Right now he simply wanted to enjoy being the only one who knew about his newfound _soulmate._

 

“Oh, that someone.” His father chuckled lightly under his breath, while his mother merely looked on, seemingly lost. But his father merely leaned closer to his mom, as if to whisper something in her ear before giving her a light kiss in the forehead, sharing some type of language that only they could understand.

 

“I will never understand you men,” His mother rolled her eyes, but decided not to pry, giving him a final glance before going back to her tea, Humming under her breath she murmured, “I guess it wouldn’t hurt for you to keep your own secrets.”

 

-

 

At the age of ten, his other half suddenly shifted from children’s song and the occasional seasonal songs into more about the _commercial_ songs; or what he assumed were commercial songs, seeing as they are mostly found blaring inside his head throughout the entire day, in strange intervals. But they’re no longer as repetitive as before, which is an added plus considering that he still does end up with a headache whenever he hears it.

 

“Where did you heard that song?” His mother suddenly asked while he was humming a tune under his breath. Today is weekend, and he didn’t have any class, so he spent his day with his mother; who was silently knitting on one of her pet projects. He looked up from the book he was reading—it’s something about the different caves that can be found around the world, and it’s very interesting.

 

“My soulmate was singing it,” He explained, and his mother hummed as she stopped working on her project to pin him with a look. Confused, he cocked his head as he waited for his mother to talk. “Your teacher did told us that you must have acquired your own Indicator last year, it’s just odd how I finally got to hear you talk about it when you obviously seemed to avoid the concept of that topic.” She stated.

 

He frowned, trying to remember if he did mentioned anything to his parents about the Indicator, going by his teacher’s reaction, he must have assumed that everyone has their different ways of dealing with it, so he could have decided not to tell his parents due to the initial reaction he got from the young woman. “I just figured that not everyone shares the same sentiment about knowing one’s other half.” He shrugged, closing the book on his hand.

 

His mother stopped knitting, putting back the yarn into her basket, she focused her attention entirely to his face. “I admit that you are correct in that regard; I just don’t want you to fear telling us about this soulmate of yours; we do want to know what’s going on with you, we do worry.” She reassured him, her one pale hand reaching out to brush his blond hair.

 

He silently mulled about her words, with his soulmate’s songs still swimming in the back of his head, he does have many question about his soulmate, or about everyone’s soulmate in general, but he fears asking somebody, not knowing how they’ll react to his questions. But this is his mother, and she did stated that she wanted to know what’s happening.

 

With those thoughts in mind, he finally made up his mind. “Mom, are you and dad soulmates?” he suddenly asked. The brown haired woman froze, but unlike his previous teacher, she didn’t looked pained, merely surprised. She gave him a smile, before leaning forward.

 

“Ez, son, let me tell you something about soulmates.” She stated, “It’s true that they are made specifically for the one person who they are indicated, but not everyone can be with their soulmate.” She gave him a slightly sad smile, but the amusement was still in her eyes. “In fact, even siblings can be soulmates sometimes; and that doesn’t necessarily meant that they have to be together. Even soulmates can be apart,” At his confused look, she added. “You best friend could be your soulmate, so does your parents. Soulmates meant an unbreakable bond that not even time can sever.”

       

“And you and dad?” He asked, wanting to know. “Unfortunately we are not,” At this his mother smiled brightly, as if to tell him that she’s happy even if their indicators were not made for each other. He, on the other hand, was confused and slightly sad about the fact. “But what if you and dad found your real soulmates, does that mean that you’ll have to go to your real other halves?” He asked, fearing the future of not having both of his parents by his side. He’s the only child, and his parents were his only treasures, so he wants to be with them as much as he could.

 

His mother shook her blonde head, giving him a knowing look, before brushing his hair once again, “Silly, of course not.” She stated, before picking up her yarn ball once again, starting on her knitting once again. “In fact, I’ve met my soulmate before.” She admitted, giving him a sad smile, “And so does your father.” He tried to ask about it, but this time a pained look was all she gave to him, so he stopped prying for good.

 

“I have nothing much to tell you about mine, but they are good; they have to be, they were made for me.” She stated, averting her gaze, “And I heard that your father lost his a few years back.” And with that their conversation finally stopped.

       

        -

 

He was around the age of twelve when he realized the vast age difference that he had with his young soulmate. At the age of nine, it didn’t really crossed his mind to calculate, and by the age of ten he only learnt yet another thing about soulmates, by his eleventh years of age he tried to research on his own, and though some of the articles that he’s read about soulmates does helped him understand more about his Indicator, it didn’t really crossed his mind that he could be getting more clue about his soulmate’s identity through the songs he would sing.

 

One thing he realized first is going by the fact that his soulmate started singing nursery rhymes by the age of nine, that would meant that he would either have to be by the age of one by the time he started hearing the songs, so by now he would have to be by the age of four. But despite of that fact, it didn’t creep him out as much as it should.

Another thing that he realized is that most of the songs that his soulmates sings seemed to be purely American songs, and a few English ones, depending on the band that seemed popular in his country, or place. So he would either have to be American, or some Englishman who is just as fond of American songs.

As for the tone of his voice, Ezreal used to grin at the occasional lisps that he was used to hear from him a few years back, but now that most of those humorous wording mistakes has gone away, he could finally appreciate his younger soulmate’s voice without breaking out a grin or two. He noticed that from time to time his soulmate still breaks out in a lisp, but he’s improving now. And at that moment, he seemed to be more into rapidly spoken songs – raps—and vulgar words in general.

They were in the living room, situated in front of the fireplace, with him playing with the fire—or trying to, seeing as whenever he gets close enough to the flames, his mother would call out his name while his father would merely chuckled under his breath in amusement. His mother reading a book, and his father focused on the newspaper before him.

“Ezreal,” His mother gave him an admonishing look, causing him to flush and to stop mouthing the words that his soulmate was singing. Unfortunately, despite of the good rhythm of the songs that his other half sings, the vulgar words that he uttered made it difficult for him not to sing them in tandem without making his parents give him a warning look.

He pointed at his temple, which luckily didn’t hurt as much as it did, “My soulmate was singing them.” He stated, giving his parents a wide-eyed look. They are generally not allowed to curse inside the house, and he didn’t know much who curses just as much as his other half, so it’s leaving even him getting a whiplash due to the dirty words he could utter.

“Your soulmate sure got a mouth on him,” His father stated in amusement, drinking his wine glass with a benign look. At first his father made the mistake of calling him her, that is before he corrected them and told them that the voice in his head is unmistakably a boy, and not a girl. At first he thought that they will hate him for having a same gendered soulmate—bigotry still exist  around, and so does homophobia, but they merely told him that they wouldn’t mind whatever gender he chooses as his other half, and the same goes if he does decided to have them as a lover in the future.

Meanwhile his mother merely looked visibly upset. Not wanting his mom to get angry at him, he looked down at the table between his parents; morose and repentant. “I’m sorry.” He apologized softly. His mother smiled, shaking his head, while his father merely looked at their interaction with a mirthful look in his green eyes. They said that his father was the type of man who will find amusement in every situation, and now he could see why everyone says that.

After a soft jab from his father in affection as if to remind her that he’s waiting for her reply, and his mother finally sighed, rolling her eyes. “Alright, I will forgive you for now. But don’t do it again.” She stated, before going back to reading. He gave a small nod, thanking his father softly this time humming the tune instead of the words itself.

He could have left it at that, but suddenly he found himself wanting to know what his parents thought of his fated other half, “What do you think of him?” He suddenly asked, finally moving away from the fireplace, much to his mother’s relief, to turn to his parents. His mother closed the book before her, while his father folded the newspaper in half, as if to tell him that he had their full attention.

His father was the first to speak, leaning forward from his chair he regarded him with a cool look. “The fact that he could curse like a sailor and seemed to be pulling you into that direction?” He said in amusement, causing his mother to roll her eyes and to swat the other man softly. “You will not encourage him,” She said with a look. “I’m not,” his father replied back softly.

“What if they are not good?” He suddenly asked, looking at their feet as to avoid their disappointed look. He does wonder about those things, what if his other half is not what his parents want for him? Would he be forced to choose between what his parents want and not what he wanted?

His mother hushed him, pulling him closer and embracing softly. Other kids of his age used to shy away from their parents whenever they hug them in public or in the sight of their classmates, he knows; he’s seen some of them react violently to hugs like they were some disease, as for him he never understood why; he enjoyed hugs and love getting hugs from his parents.

“Oh Ez,” She murmured softly, kissing him in the forehead, “We don’t, we do care about your well being and we forever will, but if they could make you happy, then we don’t really have a say about it.” She reassured him, brushing his hair while his father rubbed his back gently. “Of course we will worry if they turn out to be a criminal in the future, but that’s still your decision to decide if you would want to be with them or not.” She added.

He gave a small nod in understanding, and he sighed in relief at knowing that his parents will be with him all the way, no matter what he decided for himself in the future. ”Thanks, mom,” He said, kissing the woman back on her cheek and turning to his father before kissing him on the cheek himself.  “Thanks, dad.” He said.

       

-

At the age of sixteen he realized that not every soul mates who ended up together could have the happy ever after that everyone thought that they would have. Because it’s in that same age when the story about a woman who was married to her soulmate and how he abused her surfaced, and it became the headline of almost every news in the television and newspaper.

“How could he do that to her?” He found himself asking his mother, one morning when he found out of the news himself. He’s on his second high school by now, and in a few years he’ll be traveling to another country to study the course that he’s decided to take. A year ago his parents asked him what he wanted to do with life, and after years of deliberation and second guessing he finally decided to become an archeologist in the future.

Now, due to the knowledge that he’ll be away from them, his parents insisted for him to continue living inside the mansion. But as to help him become independent, they told him to handle washing his own clothes, while his mother taught him how to cook from the scratch, as to prevent him from getting dependent to pre-made foods and to prepare him.

“They are unhealthy, and are more likely to lead you to an earlier death.” His mother admonished with a petulant look on her face when he answered her that he could probably live by noodles and canned foods, “I will not allow you not to outlive us, Ezreal.” She stated, before proceeded to teach him how to make _Blanquette de Veau_ from scratch.

“You’d have to understand that there are times people undergo changes and experiences which twists them inside out, for better or for worse.” His mother told him with a sad look on her face, as he was teaching him how to properly bake croissants, and a mean cup of hot chocolate for breakfast. “And even so, you have to know when being with your soulmate could be good for your, or could only bring you harm.” She explained.

From that moment on, he decided and resolved not to be bad to his other half, or to abuse them in any way that they’ll have nothing to do but is to decide to be away from him. “Was that the reason why you decided not to be with your soulmate?” He suddenly asked. His mother gave him a sad look, seemingly in pain, before giving him a nod.

“I could never tell you at your age that being with him, while is not entirely bad, could not be very good for the both of us, either.” She stated truthfully, her eyes forlorn and sad. He wondered if like him his mother waited for that chance to meet her other half, and if meeting him only disappointed her.

“Was being with them so bad?” He asked, concerned; her mother never told him anything about her other half, only that one time she said that they didn’t end up together due to some circumstances. “I did tried, you know?” She admitted, “But within a year I saw how being with him could eventually destroyed me, so I decided to end.”

He looked down at the boiling pot before them, suddenly lost in thoughts. Idly he wondered if meeting his fated half change both of their lives for the better. His mother never showed it to him, but the occasional pained look she would send him when talking about soulmates showed that at times she still regrets something about her past decisions. He fears making those decisions someday.

“Soulmates are made for one another to balance the things that the other lack, but it doesn’t mean that they should be dependent to each other.” She told him, putting a hand under his chin to capture his attention, “You have a different soulmate, and therefore you’ll be experiencing different things compared to mine.” Then she indicated the pot before them, pointing something inside that changed while they were talking to each other, “But for now you’ll have to learn how to feed yourself, you can learn from me and impress this soulmate of yours.”

Oddly enough, his head remained silent and headache free that entire day, or the next few days after that news; it’s as if his own soulmate was affected with the news that everyone seemed to be clamoring about. He tries not to think how he missed his other half’s voice, but on times when he found himself anticipating the words, he’d only found himself wallowing in disappointment when they don’t come.

But that slump only lasted for two weeks, because soon after that he found himself frowning silently, only to sigh in relief when he felt the familiar sting inside his head. Since then, he’s learned to appreciate the pain that comes, knowing that what would follow is the familiar reassurance that somewhere out there his soulmate is still alive and breathing, just like him.

-

At twenty he found himself getting accepted to a university in London. It was by the month of January when the letter came, stating that he’ll be required by the school premises before the beginning of the first semester, and detailing the list of requirements that he’ll need for his admission to the school.

“Congrats, Ez.” His father told him the very morning he broke out the news at them after his mother showed him the letter, they were in the kitchens and his mother was cooking something for them to celebrate the news of his passing to the school. “We knew that you could do it,” He added, hugging him tightly before patting him in the back.

And, as if the gods were actually on his side that day, a familiar pain filled the back of his head, as his soulmate’s new song filled his mind, causing a bit of a wince to form. Worried, his father asked him what was wrong, only to stop and give him a knowing look, as if he already knew the meaning for his sudden pained look. “Soulmate must be having fun as well,” He stated, as the upbeat tune swam inside his head.

Due to the constant barrage of English songs that his soulmate kept singing that he could not understand, he choose to study English on his spare time so he could know the meaning of the songs that his other half kept uttering, and he’s never felt so connected to another man the same way he felt whenever he understood the words that would fill his head. “It’s always a good time,” He mused, mouthing the other parts of song himself. His parents gave him a confused look, they do understood a few English, but they don’t have the strongest knowledge about the language, so he translated it French for them.

At the age of twelve his soulmate seemed to have graduate as much of the Minecraft and Roblox themes that he kept humming under his breath, and seemed just as dedicated to classic movies and oldies, and even romantic comedy, but he also seemed to like playing video games like Super Mario, Mario Kart and Zelda—going by the sudden bursts of mismatched choruses that he’d hear inside his head. And despite of not having met them yet, he already found himself falling in love with the young man and his strange hobbies.

-

“I wonder what they’d say about your hobbies,” Suddenly Luxanna spoke beside him with a blank face, causing him to stop on his storytelling and to give her a pointed look. “I mean, you’re such a dork yourself, and going by his tastes, he’d have to be some sort of nerd; you guys are made for each other.” Then she stopped, before giving him a knowing mischievous grin, “Just don’t let him see you read the books that’ you’ll find from your future findings, I’m sure he’ll run away from you the very moment you will.”

He pursed his lips, and gave her a look. Around them the sound of the daily library life went on as students come and go, carrying books or other materials that needed studying. He found himself answering and accommodating the few that went to the counter to ask for stuffs, glad to have a few minutes of respite from the other blonde haired woman and her sassiness, before going back to his post so he could continue with his story and actually do his work in silence.

“I could just let you finish the story telling for the both of us.” He said, sitting down once again after handling two students who needed help with searching books. Why people never bothered to know the Decimal System or to actually search through the – cards, he’ll never know, but it’s a part of his work.

“And miss my chance of you suddenly getting starry-eyed over this soulmate of yours? Never.” She gave him an amused look, marking down a few items on the test paper before her with a side-glance. He tried to remind her that any wrong checks would cost her life under Garen’s wrath, but she simply waved him away with a pale hand, urging him to continue with his story. .“Go on, I’m waiting.” She said.

Knowing better than to argue against the woman and her demands, he merely sighed, before continuing his story. “Around two years ago...” He suddenly started, causing the woman to stop her work and to look at him in alarm. “Hold up, you missed six whole years of storytelling!” She declared, a petulant look on her face. “We haven’t even been talking long enough for you to end it now,” She added.

He would have rolled his eyes,  but he’s known that doing so wouldn’t really change his friend’s idea and demands, so he just did as he was told, complete with him acting very irritant about it. He did have to show that he’s not a pushover, he can’t have the blonde haired woman take advantage of that. “By the age twenty-two…” He began.

-

At the age of twenty-two he found himself almost getting discouraged with his college life overseas. He’s missing his parents dearly, and the many tours and projects he’d to do and accomplish within a given time made going back to France impossible, even for him. It didn’t help the fact that he also pretty much told his parents that if he’ll ever go and visit them, he’d rather save money first, as not to burden them with the traveling fees. So by his second year within London, he’s pretty much starting to miss home.

It didn’t help that for some unknown reason even his soulmate seemed far-away from him. If he’s going to measure soul mate’s chronological life, he’d be about by fourteen, and around middle school, that would meant having a more hectic life as compared to his previous years. But he found it slightly disheartening not to hear his soulmate’s singing voice as frequently as he used to hear them.

The last time he heard him, he was humming some tune from a television series that seemed to be from the Big Bang Theory—he tried to research it via the internet, and that has proved to be one of the most difficult thing that he’s ever did, but once again finding connection with his soulmate made him feel more in touch with him so in the end it had been worth it. But has been two weeks now, and he still hasn’t heard anything from his illusive other half.

Despite of the happiness that he feels whenever he thinks of his soulmate, there are times when thinking about him also brings him sadness. He wondered if like him his other half was as just as excited to meet him. His research and his mother’s words did clued him the chances of a couple getting the same type of indicator is close to null, with a rare pair or two, so there’s a high chance that his soulmate would get the annoying ones—much like his telepathic indicators—and would grow to hate him.

He didn’t want to consider that fact, but it still makes him depressed whenever his thoughts would thread closer to those thoughts. But one morning he woke up to the sound of singing inside his head, coupled with the familiar sting that he grew to miss after not experiencing for weeks. He was so glad that he even found himself forgoing sleep and signing with his other half.

Luckily he does know the song, _“There’s holmium, and helium, and hafnium and erbium..”_ He remembers the Element Song by Tom Lehrer, one of English rap-like song wherein one would have to state all the elements. He’s not really into chemistry, seeing as his interest is more into archeology, but he did tried learning the song in effort for him to learn more about the English language, and he’s never been glad that he did.

The song made him wonder if his fated other half is some sort of science major guy, he knew that his soulmate’s interests varies, and does go from one hobby to another like he was changing clothes—either that meant that had a short-attention span or he simply loves doing anything that captures his interest—but he wondered if this fascination towards science would remain.

Other than that, after hearing the young man’s song once again, made him all the more aware of his soulmate’s singing hobby. Compared to his previous singing spree, his other half seemed mindful of his humming. He might be in a dorm house, then, living with other people and thus have to be careful not to be heard singing. That would also explain the odd three in the morning wakeup calls he’d receive from his sudden hum—not that he complains hearing his soulmate’s voice, because he did enjoyed listening to him sing, but waking up by 3 when you have a class at 6 in the morning meant missing an hour of not sleeping, and that is a lot.

But he still can’t bring to hate the other guy, which started his caffeine addiction, or dependency. At first he didn’t’ really like drinking coffee all that much, it’s too bitter and tastes like something burnt. But necessity out ruled even his hatred for the dark liquid, and within a month he found himself almost living through cups of coffee like it was something that he needed to actually live.

Not only that, but coffee helped him focus on his studies—it did slightly left him very twitchy, and the drinking more than two cup of coffee would meant having bigger punishment by the end of the day—but before he knew it he simply couldn’t live without it anymore. Of course, he still ended up being roused from his sleep by his other half around 3:00 in the morning, which is a bitch—but you all know what they say about _love_.

        -

At the age of twenty-three, he’s finally nearly done with his Bachelor’s Degree, and was planning to embark on his Master’s, when the tune of his soulmate’s song suddenly changed one day, causing him to stop from what he was doing—surveying a historic site—and try to compose himself due to the amount of pain that he felt from his soulmate’s voice and tone alone, notwithstanding the flare of pain due to the telepathic connection. After experiencing that for almost fifteen years now, he’s long since become used to it, and this is a different pain, he could tell.

He feared what that song meant, and feared in behalf of his obviously mourning soulmate. Despite being twenty-three, death is something that he could not deal with, more than that, he feared outliving his parents, so the fact that his soulmate is obviously affected with this death made him fear that somehow his other half lost someone important to him.

“You alright?” One of his classmate asked, making him stop from his work and give them a reassuring grin, willing much of his emotions away. He can’t really say that he knows what losing someone feels like, but he never knew that he’ll be capable of experiencing his soulmate’s emotions through mere singing along. Obviously his soulmate must be in so much pain. The fact that he’s not there, incapable of giving him reassurance and help leaves a bitter feeling in his tongue.

“Just needed time to compose myself.” He said with a thumbs up, before holding the small pickaxe with his gloved hand once again. He will deal his overflowing empathy for his soulmate later, but for now he had other matters to attend; and the caves wouldn’t survey itself.

And he did, an hour after the excavation he found himself crumpling on the back of their pick-up truck, silently crying due to the pain he felt in behalf of his still mourning soulmate. Unlike the upbeat techno music he loved, the ones he kept murmuring and humming under his breath sounded like the lullabies that parents would sing to their child, and he found his heart breaking in two, knowing that his other soulmate might be singing this for his beloved parent.

Luckily his companions took the clue and didn’t bother him much, and they even didn’t ask when he emerged from the truck almost thirty minutes later, eyes puffy and face red due to the amount of tears he shed. He feared that the death of someone important to his other half might change him for the worse.

-

In a way his fears were met, because upon his twenty-fourth his soulmate suddenly turned to more vulgar and rough sounding songs; metals, rock metal and other scream like music became the highlight of his day, and he found himself nearly wishing to have his days of having no words singing in his head back. But despite of the mounting irritation, he tried to understand the reason for the rapid descent of his soulmate, losing someone changes everybody.

It didn’t stayed the same, because within the next two months suddenly the songs changed. And he can’t really say that it was for the better. It was also in that age when his soulmate gained some sort of _crush_ —he can’t really verify it, but the longing songs and the occasional words about crushes and unrequited love would fill his head, and as much it makes him happy to know that his soulmate is no longer in mourning, the fact that his other half is falling for another person not him just made him flat-out irritated and constantly in a bad mood.

He had only been lucky that somehow his soulmate fell out of crush with this person because within a month the type of mushy songs faded, in exchange for songs about missing bullets and crazy exes. In a way that left him feeling relieved and entirely too happy, which is a whiplashing change—as told by his field companions.

-

Within the next two years nothing worthy of saying happened, but he did finished his Master’s degree by his twenty-fifth, and has decided to work on his doctorate while working on his archeological researches. He’s proving to be one of those prodigal archeologists who is clamored by people for some reason, and has even gained a name of his own. Much to his annoyance.

It was in the same year that he finally was able to visit his parents oversea, who were too overjoyed with seeing him to berate him about the six years of not even visiting home. It had been a very teary reunion, with his father literally pulling him close for a bear hug and his mother shedding more than a tear or two due to the emotions she felt after seeing him.

After that they went and ate to some restaurant close to the airport, the same place that his parents dated back in their early years, before they went to the mansion so they could give him rest. As he looked around the mowed lawn of his childhood home, he found himself inhaling the familiar smell of the ancestral mansion. He realized that almost nothing much changed within the six years that he’s away, there was a few changes with the draperies and the arrangement of the fixtures, and he noticed that his parents framed the photos that he sent over the years.

Much of his room’s decoration remained, even the map of their mansion that he made the same year he decided to pursue his archeological course. But despite of being unoccupied for years, his room remained dust-free, and almost untouched. It’s as if he was looking at a faraway memory, and it left him feeling very nostalgic.

“We kept most of your things.” His mother said, with his father’s embrace around her, they were watching him from the doorway. He turned to them, his eyes teary-eyed and his heart overwhelming with the feelings he carried for these two people who gave him so much love in their heart. “I noticed,” He replied softly, sitting down on his bed with a sigh as he tried to process the fact that he’s finally back.

“How long do you intend to stay here?” His mother asked, seemingly content to stay on the doorway with his father. He turned to them with a tired look, “A week or two, I guess.” Suddenly he felt guilty, he didn’t return for six years, and now that he’s back he can’t even afford to give a month or two of his time to stay with his parents. Suddenly he thought about his soulmate and his loss.

“I’m sorry mom, dad.” He apologized, causing his parents to question why the sudden apology. “I’ve been a very distant these past few years, I could have returned earlier but I didn’t even exert the effort to do so.” He looked up to see his parent’s reactions, his own heart breaking at the thought disappointing them.

“We do admit that we are kind of hurt when you didn’t even took your time to visit us, but we have to understand that you have things to do back there,” His mother looked torn if she wanted to approach him, and he wondered if this is what distance could, and his heart broke into pieces at the thought that he made this happen. So with hopeful look on his face he stood from his sitting position on his bed, and approached his parents for a hug, kissing them both on the cheeks just like how he used to do when he’s young.

“I’m sorry, from now on I promise that I wouldn’t let it get as long six years.” He promised, hugging the two most important people in his life. His mother merely chuckled softly, her tone filled with amusement, “Don’t promise something you cannot keep, I do know for a fact that you have just as big ego as your father here when it comes to admitting the truth.” The small woman told him, rolling her eyes, “Do what you must do, out there. Go back only when you’re well enough.” She said, before bestowing a kiss on his forehead.

“And might as well bring your soulmate if you ever do find them there.” His father added. Distance was never enough to make them less knowledgeable of what’s happening in his life, despite of the sea that divided the three of them, he still kept in touch via phone and video calls, and they are the ones he talked to after he broke down when his soulmate lost something important to him.

“Let’s hope that I’ll meet them, there, then.” He replied in amusement, wishing that his luck would allow him to finally see his soulmate for real.

-

A year later, he did met someone, after they’ve emptied the contents of their coffee on his dress-suit, one blonde haired woman that went by the name of Luxanna Crownguard.

It had been a particularly good morning, and he was just on his way to the academy in order to have the meeting with the other archeology staffs for the next excavation due the next month when on his way to fetch his daily addiction, someone doused him with some sugary concoction.

“I’m so sorry,” The woman, a blonde haired woman with a darker shade of blue eyes, apologized to him profusely, trying to help him remove as much of the stain she could. He’s been having a hard time by then, and he might have accidentally raised his voice in irritation and ire due to what happened.

“I said I’m sorry,” She repeated, obviously getting annoyed herself. And that’s when he finally calmed down enough to apologize for his sudden outburst. He would have talked to her longer, had he had enough time, but she had somewhere he’s required to be in, and going by the stain on his dress-suit, he’d have to go back to change, while the woman herself did have a class to attend to.

“Let me make it up to you,” He insisted, and despite of his denials, she persist to have his contact number so they could talk later that day. And he found himself doing that. After the meeting, from which he was two minutes late, he finally got the courage to call the blonde haired woman.

They agreed to meet at the café from where he saw her first, and despite of the initial awkwardness that he felt for questioning himself why he even called her, he found himself warming up to the woman and learning a two or three about her. She’s an aspiring teacher in Science and mythical creatures, if such course even exists. And looking at her is as if he was looking at his exact mirror replica—strangely bizarre and just as awe-inspiring.

It also didn’t help that he did ended up having a small crush with the Lux himself, admiring her spunk and her spirit. He did felt as if he was cheating on his soulmate, though, so he didn’t even get to enjoy his slight crush due to his conflicting feelings. But as he grew to know more about her, he found that he only admired her and treated her just like a younger sister, and on some occasions much like an older sister the he could talk to.

They were also on their sixth month of friendship when Luxanna finally asked him about his indicator, and when he did ended up finding her affliction and her lack of having one. He almost pitied her, but she looked careless about the fact that she was not given one that he found himself eventually accepting that he’d rather have that than be given someone she’ll have to be forced to be with someday.

“They call it aces, or simply being uninterested in having any sort of relationship.” Luxanna explained when he asked her about her lack of interest in anyone. “It might sound odd, but I found it more comforting to be in a relationship with someone who will love me as me, and not because some strange fate voodoo forced us to be together.” Then she turned to him in panic, “No shaming you guys who believe in soulmates, but I simply am not into that getting paired business.” She stated.

“If I were to find someone who I’ll learn to love and would eventually enter into a relationship, that’s for me to decide, but right now having someone besides me is the last thing on my mind.” She said, flexing her muscles as if to show her nonexistent biceps, “I can handle myself,” She added. And she did looked as if she isn’t bothered about it, so he decided to leave it at that.

He met Luxanna’s brother, Garen, close to seven months on their friendship, and he almost ended up getting doused by this time pure water, hadn’t the buff teacher didn’t realized him coming, “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you.” He said. Garen, unlike Luxanna, had brown hair, but he looked just as handsome as the small teacher.

“Are you Luxanna’s brother?” He found himself asking, he did remembered his friend telling him about her brown-haired, blue-eyed buff brother who’s the school’s Physical Education teacher. And the man before him looked the exact replica of the infamous brother that he’s never met yet, despite being friends with her sister.

“You must be Luxanna’s boyfriend, then?” The man’s stature suddenly turned rigid, his eyes narrowing into slits as his hold on the bucket filled with dirty water turned tense, the steel container bending under the pressure of his touch. He looked angry, and very much ready to destroy him into bits. Suddenly he feared for his life, and even wondered why he asked, remembering how protective older brothers could get with their younger siblings.

“Friend, actually.” He corrected softly, looking straight ahead as if to show that he is truthful and can be trusted, after a few minutes of staring the older man finally calmed down. But his steely look pretty much told him how wary he still is about him. “You must be the Ezreal guy she’s been telling me about,”

       

His life from then on changed; while he’s not entirely an introvert, and can hang out with his classmates, he rarely does meet eye-to-eye with his archeologist peers; with them thinking that he’s some sort of snob when in fact he’s simply too awkward with human interaction and couldn’t really handle much of the attention his sudden adoring fans would give him.

But with Luxanna’s presence in his life, he found himself interacting more with different students, and not only with her brother and some of her friends, but also to almost everyone that they’ll meet. Luxanna had this strange character that is capable of talking to anyone she meet, and with her beside him he’s learning to be a bit friendlier than before. One of the things that hasn’t changed, on the other hand, was their shared addiction with coffee; her with her sugary concoctions and with his darker than his soul ones.

As for his soulmate, nothing much has changed in that department. He does hear from them, time to time, by the songs that they’d utter and hum. To his relief the strange descent of songs from mellow ones to rough sounding metals ended before he reached his twenty-sixth, and once again he found himself hearing theme songs about the games that they’ll play and the occasional new songs that will come out.

That lasted till he turned twenty seventh, and though they lessened when he turned twenty eight, it never fails to make him happy to know that his soulmate could still enjoy the games that he himself used to enjoy when he’s young.

        -

“Nerd, meet dork.” Luxanna uttered, just as he finished his story telling, causing him to turn to the blonde haired woman and to blank face. This time he choose to ignore the comment, pointing to the stack of papers before the other woman and smiling sadistically when he stated, “Now that I’m done  telling my story, we could finally go back to our tasks, and you could finally grade your brother’s papers without excuses.” He said in glee.

The other woman groaned dramatically, malingering and eventually begging for his help, which he denied because he’s a sadist like that. Eventually, having no other reaction from him but a firm no, Lux finally gave up and decided to grade the papers before her, still groaning almost every item just because she could and she wouldn’t be Luxanna if she didn’t.

“Hey,” this time it hadn’t been the blonde haired woman who destroyed the pregnant silence, but him, suddenly remembering something. “Did the café we frequent to changed employees or something?” He suddenly asked, causing the blonde haired woman to look up from the papers she was grading and to look at him excitedly, all too eager to stop what she was doing in favor of having a break away from grading papers.

“Yeah, some probably black American dude who looked far too young to be working on the café,” She admitted, giving him a slightly apologetic smile, “Did they managed to butcher your coffee? I’m sorry, he’s the only person present when I ordered, and couldn’t ask for the favorite barista whose coffee brew you like,” She added.

He shook his head, frowning a bit, and found himself wanting more of the coffee he just drunk a few minutes ago, “odd thing is, I kind of like their brew,” He turned to the blonde haired woman, “Maybe I’ll ask for him from now on,” He winced a bit, knowing that the new brew is more likely to give him some sort of coma via coffee overdose someday, or could send him to the hospital, he’s drinking too much black coffee enough as it is, he didn’t need to upgrade his addiction.

“If you like it so much, we could go back by lunch, hopefully they’ll still be there when we do manage to go back.” She said, smiling benignly in amusement. Then she suddenly stopped, as if considering something, “How old was your soulmate once again?” She asked, seemingly too eager to know.

He frowned, “Probably around seventeen to eighteen,” he didn’t even need to calculate anymore, because one of the advantages of having an indicator like he had meant knowing when is the birthdate of his soulmate even before he got to meet them. And the amount of happy birthdays he’d sung pretty much made him remember almost every birthday. “Why, is something wrong?” He asked, concerned.

The blonde haired woman merely shook her head, smiling in amusement before going back to her work without being prodded to do so, “Nothing, just ignore me.” She murmured cryptically, leaving him staring at her spot in bafflement, wondering if he just missed some punchline while he was telling the story of his soulmate and his indicator. “Curious and curiouser, indeed.”

        -

A few hours later, for some odd reason Luxana had finished her work first, immediately dragging him from his post after calling for a temporary substitute from one of the student helpers. “Why the rush?” He asked, curious. They’re walking towards the café now, after running away from the sudden crowd of fans who has decided to clamor for his attention. “Your fans are hellish to deal with,” Luxanna said with a frown, panting a bit and shaking her head as they made their way outside of the school.

“At least I could talk them into leaving me alone for hours now,” He shook his head, shivering a bit as he remembered the days when he used to avoid those women like they were a plague, only for them to chase him more. Back then he rarely even gave them any attention, and it made them all the more eager to try and talk to him, now that he no longer shies away from their attention, he was able to make a compromise that he will try to do at least three of their group’s demands—he’ll have a say what he will do so as not to put himself into a position where he’ll be forced to do what he don’t want-- so long as they leave him alone when he’s inside the library.

“We need to go back to the café, or else the new barista might be gone now,” Luxanna replied, waving a dismissive hand. As they made their way into the café, he felt the familiar pain in his head, and a song which is oddly the same tune the café they’re approaching seemed to be hitting on, full blast.

He didn’t think much about it, but as they approached the café’s door, he found a different person behind the counter, and not the usual guy who takes their orders. “Welcome Blizt’s café,” Was the standard greeting and SOP within the establishment, followed by, “Your everyday solution to your cranky needs,” Which seemed to be some sort of running gag between almost every employee, and the same words he’s used to hearing whenever the enters inside the homely café. But today they were not greeted with those words, as the new employee seemed too focused on whatever he was doing to give them any attention.

“Talk about customer service,” small things like those normally doesn’t bother him, he’s not one to be easily annoyed with a service crew if they failed to give as much courtesy they are required to shelve out, but for some reason the fact that this particular guy just rubbed him the wrong way. They approached the counter, with Lux leaning forward as if to stop him from tearing a new asshole from the still distracted guy.

Finally, as if he’s realized he’s not alone, the bartender turned to them, “Sorry, I didn’t notice you guys enter, was busy with the machine. I’m not normally the one who handles the counter, but Zac is out so…” Something inside him _clicked_ , it was a sudden realization that made him turn to the other guy and look at him straight in the eye. “Welcome to Blit’z—“

“It’s you,” He said, his voice filled with awe as he stared at twin brown orbs. Slowly, the other teen’s eyes widened back, besides them Luxanna merely looked on, amused and smug. The sound of the café’s establishment can still be heard around them, along with the sound of the ongoers as they went about with their ways, but at that moment he found himself finding a part of him that he never expected he’ll meet.

“Oh, that was surprising,” Slowly the smaller teen murmured, brushing his white hair back before scratching the back of his neck. He looked just as nervous as he felt, and Ezreal can’t help but smile in reassurance, “I guess introductions are in order,” he added before reaching out a hand for a handshake, “Hi soulmate, my name is Ekko.”

Clearing his throat, he reached out one pale hand, firmly grasping the teen’s hand before shaking it; if he noticed the clamminess of his skin, the other teen didn’t comment, but if it’s any consolation his soulmate’s hand is just as cold as his. “Hello, my name is Ezreal.” He murmured back, feeling his face flush and burn as he looked at the eyes of his fated other half. He’s only less than five minutes in after meeting him and he’s already acting like a dork and some sort of klutz.

His soulmate, Ekko was the first to let go of his hand, silently bringing it back beside him with one last press before leaning forward into the counter. Luckily there’s no one waiting in line behind them, so he was able to talk to the other teen as much as he want to. “Now that’s out, let’s talk about other things,” A smug grin filled his lips, as his eyes twinkled in mirth.

“Let’s talk first about your atrocious tastes in coffee.” The brown eyed teen stated, causing him to blush once again and give a tentative smile of his own, “And after that we’ll talk about you and your tastes in music.”

Behind them Luxanna chuckled quickly ordering something for herself, “Give me the magic you gave a few hours ago, and I’ll leave you two love birds to talk amongst yourselves.” She stated, and when she finally did, she raised the cup in her hand, before motioning towards one of the seats near the counter, “I’ll leave you guys to talk, pick me up later when you’re done flirting.” Before turning away with a strut, not hiding her triumphant grin. Someday, probably after this very moment, she’ll ask something from his as some sort of compensation for being the bridge that allowed him to meet his soulmate, and he’ll have to be prepared for it, but for now he’ll focus on the _now_.

“What’s your indicator?” He found himself asking, eager to know more about his fated soul mate and about his life that he missed due to the distance between them. Suddenly the white haired teen flushed darkly, and he looked a little hesitant to tell it out loud, but with his prodding the barista finally did.

“Most related to intense feeling, but I can also taste a bit of what you’ve drink from time to time, which is a bitch considering that I mostly feel it when you drink coffee. We seriously need to talk about your addiction with that thing.” Ekko shook his head, rolling his brown eyes in exasperation. He smiled back in return, leaning forward to see more of the smaller teens’ reaction. If it’s possible to fall more in love with a person he’s just met, he doesn’t know, but the rapid beating of his heart is pretty much telling him that he’s hitting a new low.

“Af for me, I get to hear you sing, which is a great thing,” At that, the white haired teenager flushed once again, clearly embarrassed himself, “You have a great voice, you know.” He added, wanting to reassure his soulmate and also to see more of his _delicious_ reactions.

“I seriously thought that you’re some fifty-year old guy due to the amount of coffee you drink on a daily basis.” He didn’t know when they ended up giving trivia about each other, but he found himself answering to the other teen’s strange humor. “You’re a little too young to be working here,” He commented back, causing the white haired guy to roll his eyes. How that sassy action could become adorable, he had no idea, but this guy is already making him reconsider almost half of his life choices due to his presence alone.

“I turned eighteen a few weeks back,”

“I know, I heard you sing about it.”

“You really sure that you’re going to pursue this? I tend to get a bit overbearing,”

He shrugged, nonplussed, he’s managed to deal with Luxanna and her overbearingness, he’s sure that he could handle this guy’s brand of crazy. _Whether_ he could deal with his friends-- by now he considers Garen and a few of Luxanna’s friends _his_ friends, which says a lot about him-- and their brand of _nuts_ is something to marvel about, on the other hand. “The thing about archeologist is that we are out of town or in some excavation site in some odd days.”

       

The younger teen huffed, smiling smugly, “One of the youngest prodigy in the field of techmaturgical invention and machinery, you’ll have to deal with me and my atrocious and almost nonexistent schedule.”

Suddenly remembering his parents, and their reminders for him to bring his soulmate back to France if ever he met him here in London, he added, “My parents are going to either become one of your biggest fans, or your silent haters.” To which Ekko replied with, “My own parents are going to be as hellish if you hurt me in the future.” At his confused look, which in turn made Ekko curious as to why he’s reacting like that found himself telling the songs he used to sing a few years back, which clued him that someone died within the family, triggering a laughing spree from the other man.

“My pet rat, Mr. Tails, died a few years back, and not my parents.” And their conversation went on, with them constantly exchanging facts and information about each other, as Luxanna silently drank her coffee, murmuring something under her breath after each and every exchange of words.

As for him, he couldn’t possibly tell that life from there on would be happier after meeting his soulmate, or if he’ll end up regretting that meeting somewhere in the future. But so far he likes what he’s seeing. Now that he’s met him, he’s determined to be the best from there on, so he could be something his soulmate could be proud of, the same way that Ekko grew up exceeding almost all of his expectations.

“I found myself falling for this stranger and their strange tastes in music,” He added, testing the waters and seeing if he could achieve something real with the other teen, and to his relief a smile was what he was given, “I kind of learnt to appreciate this dork’s strange fascination of dark coffee, and found myself oftentimes expecting them.”

“That’s some coincidence, I actually came here to order a great cup of coffee from this new barista from where my friend and I frequent to.” Behind them the door’s bell rang, signaling that a customer is about to come in, so with an adept hand movements Ekko did his coffee, writing something on the cup, before giving him the coffee that he didn’t even really ordered. “Strange, I actually repeatedly studied how to brew the perfect cup for this soulmate of mine, odd thing it worked out.” Then he looked up at the approaching customer, giving them a perfect smile, and giving them the SOP greeting, pointedly ignoring the look he sent his way.

Picking it up as his dismissal, he sighed dejectedly before taking the cup, removing the lid he took a gulp of the coffee, sighing in bliss at the taste that he found inside, from the corner of his eyes he saw the other teen stiffen from his spot. He smiled with a knowing grin, someday he’ll try to know at to what extent Ekko’s indicator could affect him, but for now he’d settle with this.

He went to Luxanna’s table, sitting down with a slouch, “You look as if you’ve gotten yourself rejected, trouble in paradise already?” She commented lightly, sipping on her cup demurely. He raised up the take-out cup he was given, “Someone came before we could talk more about ourselves,” he looked forlornly at the cup before him, until he was reminded that the white haired teen wrote something in the cup, and with an eager grin he went and searched for the inscription.

“On the other hand,” He smiled, much like a cat who got the canary and the cream. He was not disappointed, because on the paper decoration, was the brown eyed barista’s cute writing, and numbers that indicated his mobile number, and a swift order for him, to _“call me.”_ With a triumphant grin of his own he turned to the blonde haired woman, matching the knowing grin she sent his way. “Thanks.”

 

His friend merely rolled her eyes, taking a sip from her cup before giving a wave at the barista standing by the counter, acting as if she’s known him for years instead of just less than a day. He turned to the white haired student, offering him his own smile and feeling his heart warm up at the embarrassed grin sent his way. “As I’ve said, you’d be lost without me.” And for once he agreed.

 **-** **Fin-**

**Author's Note:**

> I'm supposed to cheat and raise the rating to E, but that would mean cheating and would probably mean getting flamed because there's no smut. But I will point out that there's a sequel written already, and by the time my beta-reader and friend, LeiRei has finished our 30 Days Challenge, I'll be back to finish it. 
> 
> Wish us luck. 
> 
> Do try to reach out to us by giving us kudos and if you noticed any grammar mistakes, don't hesitate to comment.


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